Political Science

This course provides an overview of important international conflicts of the present time, their causes, main agents, and recent developments. Students investigate a number of case studies,  identifying and learning in detail about different areas of international controversy, and study models of international cooperation. Students analyze a variety of current conflicts by diagnosing the conflict, providing an outlook for the medium-term future, and proposing solutions. Classroom content is supplemented and enhanced by debate meetings with experts and practitioners from different organizations and institutions. The course addresses the following and other questions: In which policy domains can one find contemporary / future international controversies? What are the ways in which these controversies are diffused and settled? What are existing obstacles to the resolution and settlement of international conflicts? What major multilateral forums exist? Is global governance a realistic and desirable goal? What could possible forms look like?

By critically examining the influence of science and technology on the governance of human and non-human communities, this course equips students with theoretical tools to analyze nature politics and reflective skills about the role of science and technology in the world they live in. Topics include public and political problems such as examining the concerns about environmental degradation, extractivism, climate change, development infrastructure, and land distribution. Students examine the framework of (Western) scientific knowledge as objective and truth-revealing, and technological innovations as horizons for progress. “Rendering Nature Technical” explores: (i) how scientific and technological practices shape nature (its elements, dynamics, relationalities), (ii) how nature governance takes place in the interplay of science, technology, and society, (iii) the co-constitution of socio-cultural, political and economic contexts, and, science and technology, (iv) the effects of these dynamics on power, contestation and resistance in distributional conflicts. 

This course introduces students to the political system of the People’s Republic of China and the politics of its ruling entity, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The course first provides a historical foundation for understanding CCP rule, covering major events in the 20th Century. It then examines the party’s relationship to the state and policymaking, China’s foreign relations and foreign policy, as well as the politics of Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong. The politics of Taiwan are covered. 

This course introduces students to theoretical approaches to studying international relations, including scholarly debates old and new. This course is an introduction to the positive, descriptive study of international relations. Why do states make war? What are the conditions for the growth of cross-border trade and finance? What is the impact of international organizations on relations between states? This course considers these questions by looking at differing theoretical approaches to international relations and a selection of topics in historical and contemporary politics. 

This course begins with a look at the meaning of "peace" in theory and practice. Then, discussing real examples of breaches of peace, the course examines the causes and conditions that allow such breaches, as well as how they might be avoided. Finally, the course looks at cases of peace settlements and how justice and reconciliation can be achieved for lasting peace. Each week the course will consist of a variety of formats, including student presentations, lectures from the instructor, and group discussions.

This course introduces the comparative study of civil wars and post-civil war politics. Of various forms of political conflict, it focuses on civil wars (or intra-state conflicts) as they account for over 95 percent of armed conflicts around the world since the end of the Cold War. Drawing on cutting-edge research, it covers six major topics in the field, such as the causes of civil war onset, United Nations peacebuilding operations, and institutional approaches to peacebuilding in civil war-torn countries. The course helps students develop solid understanding and critical thinking about how deadly conflict can be prevented and, if it occurs, what could be the effective ways of managing the violence and building a sustainable peace in the aftermath of conflict. 

This course examines the issue of human rights in relation the idea that multicultural coexistence is accepted as a political and social fact, and, through this process of examination, aims to design institutional conditions that can respect special cultural experiences on the one hand and secure universal humanity on the other. 

Course topics explore diverging opinions on human rights in theory and practice: universality and relativity of human rights; development of human rights toward social and cultural rights; freedom of expression and antidiscrimination law; abortion, euthanasia, and human rights of women; immigration, refugee and border control; humanitarian intervention and sovereignty. 

This course explores the evolution of the American image from its colonial foundation to the contemporary setting of globalized media, infotainment and branding. The course examines the American image from three perspectives. The first is the country's "self-image," or how elites and the public perceive themselves, their government, the world and the role of the United States in it. The second is its "projected image," or how America crafts foreign policy and how, along with media and corporations, it engages in public diplomacy. The last is America's "perceived image," how publics around the world see and feel about the United States and the reasons for pro- and anti-American sentiments. By the end of the course, students will not only have a better sense of how the US sees itself, and how it is seen in the world, but will be equipped for further study in psychological approaches to international relations.

This course looks at the interface of community involvement and (effective) governmental approaches to public health. By studying how actors in this sphere collaborate in order to identify public health needs, select appropriate responses, and implement large-scale projects, students gain understanding of the different public health issues facing communities in the host environment, and the varied approaches to public health across the globe. The course pays special attention to identifying and understanding the main actors in public health systems, how such systems and their policies are influenced, and how the implementation of public health tools are affected by cultural and religious traditions.